Beast of the Week: The Banshee

by Jae Mazer

Do you hear that? A loud, mournful keening? A screech? Is it a lynx? Perhaps it’s a marmot screaming for its mate. Or maybe it’s a mother, wailing at her kid for the umpteenth time to put his goddamn shoes on. No, it’s much more sad than that. Devastating, in fact. Steeped in deep, otherworldly sorrow.

Our BEAST OF THE WEEK is the banshee. Tales of the banshee can be found all across the UK. In Ireland, the banshee is a supernatural being that heralds the death or impending death of a family member of pure Irish descent. She does this by keening, wailing, howling, screaming, and/or lamenting. In Welsh folklore, the gwrach y Rhibyn (witch of Rhibyn), announces death in very much the same manner, but for those of pure Welsh descent. In Scotland, the same proclaimer of death is referred to as the Bean Nighe (fairy washer woman). The fairy washer woman keens, but she also appears next to a body of water, washing the clothes of someone who is about to die. 

Where did the legend originate? Well, it started a long, LONG time ago, even before smartphones were invented. I wonder if banshees nowadays could send their wails via text or GIF? Is there a TikTok tag for banshee wails? But I digress. In the 8^th century, you could hire a woman to sing at a graveside or during a wake. These women were known as keeners, and they were paid in alcohol. Their tendency to imbibe earned them the label of sinner, and they were doomed to their keening duty for all of time. Translation: they were cursed to become banshees. 

What does a banshee look like? In popular media, banshees are often depicted as horrible ghastly creatures, not dissimilar to me in the morning before my first cup of coffee. But that’s not always the case. Banshees have been described in many forms: a beautiful, enchanting woman who sings a haunting song; an attractive woman concealed by shroud; a pale woman in a white dress with long red hair; a woman in a long silver dress and silver hair; a shriveled hag that mewls like a wounded animal; a headless woman, naked from the waist up, that carries a bowl of blood; an old woman with red eyes, a green dress, and long white hair; a woman dressed all in black, as tall as trees, with a voice that crackles like burning wood.

Are banshees good or bad? Well, I don’t think such a black-and-white definition can be pinned on anyone, let alone a supernatural being. I mean, even Orcs aren’t completely awful. They’re just regular dudes doing their jobs, trying to please a boss who is a giant eye that will burn them to a crisp if they don’t eat delicious Hobbits. Maybe the orcs just need a cuddle. But I digress, again. There are both good and bad (or pleasant and unpleasant, if you prefer) banshees. The good ones are sad and appear as beautiful, enchanting women. These banshees do not intend to scare those who they sing for, but rather watch over them before, during, and after death. Then there are the asshole banshees. These badass hags love to be scary, and are composed of mostly hate, anger, and cholesterol. They have some deep-seated hatred for their families. Their wails and keens are meant to scare and are emitted as a celebration of death. 

So if you hear a keening or wailing in the middle of the night, see a woman atop your roof with her long hair hanging down into your gutters, or see a ginger in a green dress washing a pair of dirty underwear in a lake, perhaps check on old Aunt Hertie or Uncle Cletus. You may soon need to buy whiskey for a funeral.